Mining equipment

ABSTRACT

The loading cowl for a mining machine having a rotary cutter has air flow inlets positioned adjacent to the upper and lower margins of the loading or working surface of the cowl, respectively. Each inlet leads to a passage including nozzle means for directing an air flow inducing spray along the passage. Control means are provided for the fluid flow to the nozzle means.

United States Patent 1191 Agnew July 29, 1975 [54] MINING EQUIPMENT3,726,562 4/1973 Wharton 299/18 ,757,49l I973 2 [75] Inventor: JamesMalcolm Agnew, 3 9/ Courdme 299/ X Burton-on-Trent, England OTHERPUBLICATIONS [73] Assignee: Coal Industry (Patents) Ltd., TheBi-Di-Cowl, Brochure Mining Supplies Lim- London, England ited.

[22] Filed: June 18, 1974 Primary ExaminerFrank L. Abbott [21] Appl'480512 Assistant Exqminer-William F. Pate, III

Attorney, Agent, or Firm.lames C. Wray [30] Foreign Application PriorityData July 11, 1973 United Kingdom 33043/73 [57 S C 521 US. Cl. 299/45;299/12; 299/81 The loading cowl for a mining machine having a 51 Int.Cl. E2lc 35/20 my air inlets psitined adiawm [58 Field of Search 299/12,18, 43, 81, 46, the upper and lower margins of the loading or working299/45, 64 surface of the cow], respectively. Each inlet leads to apassage including nozzle means for directingvan air [56} ReferencesCited flow inducing spray along the passage. Control means UNITED STATESPATENTS 7 12/1966 Rae 299/45 are provided for the fluid flow to thenozzle means.

10 Claims, 3 Drawing. Figures SHEET PATENTED JUL 2 91975 MININGEQUIPMENT This invention relates to mining equipment and in particularto loading members which are positioned adjacent to the rear of cuttersarranged to extract rock or mineral from the working face and which areprovided with means for inducing air flows adjacent to the cutters.

It has been proposed to provide a loading cowl mounted adjacent to therear of a rotary cutter of a shearer type mining machine with a drivenfan device to induce an air flow away from the rotary cutter and througha filter material to remove dust particles entrained in the air flowbefore discharging the air flow into the main ventilation air flow alongthe working face. Such prior proposed mining equipment has thedisadvantage that the fan device is bulky and has to be fed with a powersupply through cables or hoses which have to be accommodated in a zonewhere limited space is available. In addition at the end of eachtraverse of the machine along the working face the loading cowl has tobe regpositioned at the opposite side of the rotary cutter to allowthecutter to excavate mineral in both directions of travel along theworking face and the fan device and associated equipment tend to makemovement of the loading cowl more difficult. Thus such mining equipmenthas never been widely adopted.

A further disadvantage of such prior proposed mining equipment is thatthe filter material requires frequent attention in order to remove thearrested dust particles which requires the mining machine to be haltedand results in a consequential loss of production from the working face.Thus, the filter material tended not to be cleaned as frequently asdesirable for efficient operation of the equipment.

An object of the present invention is to provide mining equipment whichtends to reduce or eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages.

According to the present invention a loading member for mountingadjacent to a cutter on a mining machine comprises a component having aloading or working surface which in use when the loading member ismounted on the machine is adjacent to the cutter, an air flow passagehaving an inlet positioned adjacent to one margin of the component, andair flow inducing means including a fluid nozzle adapted to direct anair flow inducing fluid spray along the passage.

Preferably, two air flow passages are provided, each having air flowinducing means, the passages having air flow inlets positioned adjacentto two margins of the component, respectively.

Advantageously, the two margins are at opposite edges of the loading orworking surface.

Preferably, control means are provided to control the flow of fluid tothe nozzles so that fluid is sprayed along only one of the passages atany one time.

Advantageously, door means are provided for selectively closing the airflow inlets.

Preferably, the door means includes two doors associated with the twoair flow inlets, respectively, each door being urged open by the fluidsupply to a nozzle.

Conveniently, the doors are biassed towards a closed position.

Advantageously, the fluid is liquid and means are provided forseparating liquid from the induced air flow discharging from thepassage.

Preferably, the means are baffle means in the form of a wire mesh screenassembly.

The invention also provides a loading member as defined above incombination with a mining machine having a rotary cutter.

By way of example only, two embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a first embodiment of loading cowl constructedin accordance with the present invention and mounted adjacent to arotary cutter;

FIG. 2 is a section along the line IIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken through a portion of a loading memberconstructed in accordance with the present invention, the drawing beingon a larger scale than FIGS. 1 or 2.

In the FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the loading cow] is shown mountedadjacent to the rear of a rotary cutter 2 (only the outline of which isshown) of a shearer type mining machine (not shown) which in usetraverses to and fro along a longwall coal face. The coal excavated bythe cutter 2 is urged axially of the cutter by helical loading vanesprovided on the cutter which as the cutter rotates pass adjacent to theloading or working surface 3 of the loading cowl, the coal being loadedonto a conveyor (not shown) arranged along the longwall coal face. 1

The loading cowl comprises a first component 5 which is formed by acurved plate and which provides the previously mentioned loading orworking surface 3. As can be seen in FIG. 2 the vertical extent of theloading or working surface 3 is less than the vertical extent of theexcavation formed by the cutter 2 so that the upper margin 6 of thefirst component is spaced from the upper boundary 7 formed by thecutter.

The loading cowl also comprises a second component 8 which comprises twohorizontal plates 9 and 10 connected to the first component by fourvertical plates 11, 12, 13 and 14 and which defines six parallelpassages between the two components 5 and 8, the passages being made upof three upper passages 15 and three lower passages 16.

Flexible elements l7, l8 and 19 are secured to the second component 8 toprovide seals between the upper 7, lower 20 and side 21 boundariesformed by the cutter 2 and the loading cowl.

The loading cow] is mounted on the mining machine by an arm 22 which isfree to pivot around the cutter support housing (not shown).

Air flow inducing means 25 are provided within the passages 15 and 16.Each air flow inducing means comprises two fluid outlet nozzles 26arranged to direct an air flow inducing spray along the associatedpassage. At any one time fluid is fed to only the outlet nozzlesassociated with the passages 15 or, alternatively, with the passages 16.In FIG. 2 only the nozzles associated with the upper passages 15 arebeing fed with fluid. The reason for this will be made clear later inthe specification.

The loading cowl also comprises air flow deflecting plates 27 forguiding the air flow induced along the passages ll5 or 16 towards thepassage discharge 28.

In use, the loading cow] is mounted adjacent to the rear of the cutter 2as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; Since the arm 22 is free to pivot about thecutter support housing the lower margin 30 of the component 5 of theloading cowl abuts the lower boundary 20 formed by the cutter, theflexible element 17 deflecting sufficiently to allow the lower margin 30to engage the boundary 20. The horizontal plate is sufficiently clear ofthe boundary 20 to permit any broken rock material which passes under oraround the first component to pass beneath the plate 10. Thus there islittle tendency for broken rock material to be scooped into the lowerpassages as the machine traverses along the longwall face. Although thelower margin 30 of the first component 5 is shown in engagement with theboundary 20 it will be appreciated that as the boundary 20 is formed bythe cutter it is in practice uneven and thus relatively small pieces ofbroken rock material can pass beneath the first component.

When the loading cowl is in position on the desired side of the cutteras shown in FIG. 2, pressure fluid, usually water, is fed from controlmeans 35 mounted on the mining machine via feed pipes 36 to the threeoutlet nozzles 26 associated with the upper passages 15. The nozzles 26direct an air flow inducing spray along each of the passages so that anair flow is induced (as indicated by arrow X in FIG. 2) through an airflow inlet 39 formed between the upper margin 6 of the first componentand the upper boundary 7 towards the passage outlets 28. The deflectorplates 27 guide the induced air flow towards the outlets from where theair is discharged into the main ventilation air flow along the longwallface.

As the air flow is induced into the air flow inlet 39 of the passage ittends to carry dust particles away from the cutter. These particles tendto become wetted by the fluid spray as the induced air flow passesthrough the spray and upon reaching the passage discharge 27 fall ontothe mine floor i.e. the boundary 20. Thus a large proportion of the dustparticles in the vicinity of the cutter is removed from the air flowbefore it is discharged into the main ventilation air flow.

Upon the mining machine reaching the end of its traverse the loadingcowl is repositioned on the opposite side of the cutter i.e. the lefthand side of the cutter as seen in FIG. 2.

In this position the margin 6 of the first component engages the lowerboundary and the margin 30 defines an air flow inlet (similar to airflow inlet 39 previously discussed) between the loading or workingsurface 3 and the upper boundary 7. Thus, the three passages 16 are nowopen or through passages and the control means 35 are actuated so thatthe outlet nozzles 26 associated with these passages 16 are fed withpressure fluid to induce air flows through the newly formed air flowinlet and into these passages in similar manner to that previouslydescribed with reference to the passages 15. The pressure fluid supplyto the outlet nozzles associated with passages 15 is cut off by thecontrol means 35.

The actuation of the control means 35 can either be controlled by theposition of the loading cow] and/or manually.

From the above description it can be seen that the first embodiment ofthe present invention provides a loading cowl which is provided withextraction equipment for ventilating and/or removing dust particles fromthe vicinity of the cutter which is simple, compact and easy to maintainand operate.

Referring now to FIG. 3, this shows a sectional view of the upper partof a loading cowl constructed in accordance with the second embodimentof the present invention.

The loading cowl comprises a first component 45 which is formed by acurved plate and which provides a loading or working surface 43. Asecond component 48 extends behind or over the first component 45 and isspaced from the first component 45 so as to define a passage 55 havingan air flow inlet 59 adjacent to the upper margin 46 of the firstcomponent 45. The air flow inlet 59 can be closed by door means 60including a pivotally mounted door 61 which is biassed towards a closedcondition by a coiled spring 62. The door 61 is opened against theaction of its biassed loading by a ram 63 which is supplied withpressure fluid via feed pipes 66 and 67. Feed pipe 66 (only parts ofwhich are shown) simultaneously feeds fluid, typically water, fromcontrol means (similar to control means 35 of the first describedembodiment) to nozzle 76 and to the ram 63. This ensures that when anair flow inducing spray is directed along the passage 55, the ram 63 isactuated to urge the door 61 to open the air flow inlet passage 55.

The control means 75 also ensures that when water is fed to the nozzle76 it is cut off from the nozzle (not shown) associated with thecurrently lower passage 78. When water is cut off from the nozzle theassociated door (not shown) is urged by its resilient bias to wards aposition in which it closes the associated air flow inlet.

The second embodiment of loading cowl also includes a tube 80 into whichthe air flow inducing water spray 81 is directed and a wire mesh screenassembly comprising two parallel screens 83 and 84 constituting bafflemeans 85. As the induced air flow passes through the baffle means 85 thewater mixed with the air tends to be separated from the air flow byimpaction with the screen and tends to form relatively large drops whichfall out of the air flow towards the bottom of the loading cowl. Guidescreens 86 and 87 are provided to increase the baffle effect of thebaffle means 85.

The screens 83 and 84 are pivotally mounted by a pivot arrangement 90 tofacilitate cleaning of the passages 55 and 78. 1 The lower margin (notshown) of the loading or working surface 43 is similar to the uppermargin shown in FIG. 3 so that when the mining machine reaches the endof its traverse along the face and the loading cowl is re-positioned onthe opposite side of the cutter (as described with reference to thefirst described embodiment) the door associated with the now uppermargin of the loading or working surface 43 is now opened when water isfed to the associated nozzle from the control means 75. The air flowinlet 59 associated with the now lower margin 46 is closed by the door61 which moves under its resilient bias when the water supply is cutoff" from the nozzle 76 by the control means 75. Irrespective of theside of the cutter upon which the loading cowl is mounted the currentlylower air flow inlet is closed by its associated door acting under itsbias and the currently upper air flow inlet is open, the associated doorbeing urged open by the associated ram which is fed with pressure fluidsimultaneously with the associated air flow inducing nozzle.

Thus the air flow inlet associated with the nozzle currently directingan air flow inducing spray is open and the air flow inlet associatedwith the currently lower margin of the loading or working surface isclosed. This tends to ensure that the upper passage is open for the freeflow of induced air while the lower passage is closed to prevent brokenrock material from entering the passage.

The control means 75 may be actuated manually and/or by movement of theloading member.

In other embodiments of the invention only one passage having an airflow inlet and air flow inducing means is provided.

In modifications the invention, the loading member may be in the form ofa plate hinged to the machine. In this case a plate may be provided ateach side of the cutter.

From the above description itwill be seen that the present inventionprovides convenient equipment for extracting and cleaning dust laden airfrom the vicinity of a mining machine cutter which can be accommodatedin the limited space available. The equipment is also mobile andefficient.

I claim:

1. A loading member for mounting adjacent to a cutter on a miningmachine, including a first component assembly having a loading surfacewhich in use when the loading member is mounted on the machine isadjacent to the cutter, a second component assembly associated with thesaid first component assembly to define an air flow passage having anair flow inlet positioned adjacent to one margin of the said firstcomponent assembly, and air flow inducing means including a nozzle fordirecting an air flow inducing spray along the said passage.

2. A loading member according to claim 1, in which the said secondcomponent assembly defines two air flow passages each having air flowinducing means, the passages having air flow inlets positioned adjacentto two margins of the said first component assembly, respectively.

3. A loading member according to claim 2, in which the said two marginsare at opposite ends of the loading surface.

4. A loading member according to claim 3, comprising control means tocontrol the flow 0f fluid to the nozzles so that fluid is sprayed alongonly one of the said passages at any one time.

5. A loading member for mounting adjacent to a cutter and miningmachine, including a first component assembly having a loading surfacewhich in use when the loading member is mounted on the machine isadjacent to the cutter, a second component assembly associated with thesaid first component assembly to define two air flow passages having airflow inlets positioned adjacent to two margins of the said firstcomponent assembly, the two margins being at opposite ends of the saidfirst component assembly, air flow inducing means including nozzle meansfor selectively directing air flow inducing sprays along the saidpassages, control means for controlling the flow of fluid to the nozzlemeans so that fluid is sprayed along only one of the said two passagesat any one time, and door means for selectively closing the air flowinlets.

6. A loading member according to claim 5, in which the door meansincludes two doors associated with the two air flow inlets,respectively, each door being urged open by the fluid supply to theassociated nozzle means.

7. A loading member according to claim 6, in which the doors are biassedtowards the closed position.

8. A loading member for mounting adjacent to a cutter on a miningmachine, including a first component assembly having a loading surfacewhich in use when the loading member is mounted on the machine isadjacent to the cutter, a second component assembly associated with thesaid first component assembly to define an air flow passage having anair flow inlet positioned adjacent to one margin of the said firstcomponent assembly, and air flow inducing means including a nozzle fordirecting an air flow inducing liquid spray along the said passage, andmeans for separating liquid from the induced air flow discharged fromthe said passage.

9. A loading member according to claim 8, in which the said means arebaffle means in the form of a wire mesh screen.

10. A mining machine having a rotary cutter and a loading member mountedadjacent to the said rotary cutter, the loading member including a firstcomponent assembly having a loading surface which in use when theloading member is mounted on the machine is adjacent to the cutter, asecond component assembly associated with the said first componentassembly to define an air flow passage having an air flow passage havingan air fiow inlet positioned adjacent to one margin of the said firstcomponent assembly, and air flow inducing means including a nozzle fordirecting an air flow inducing spray along the said passage.

1. A loading member for mounting adjacent to a cutter on a miningmachine, including a first component assembly having a loading surfacewhich in use when the loading member is mounted on the machine isadjacent to the cutter, a second component assembly associated with thesaid first component assembly to define an air flow passage having anair flow inlet positioned adjacent to one margin of the said firstcomponent assembly, and air flow inducing means including a nozzle fordirecting an air flow inducing spray along the said passage.
 2. Aloading member according to claim 1, in which the said second componentassembly defines two air flow passages each having air flow inducingmeans, the passages having air flow inlEts positioned adjacent to twomargins of the said first component assembly, respectively.
 3. A loadingmember according to claim 2, in which the said two margins are atopposite ends of the loading surface.
 4. A loading member according toclaim 3, comprising control means to control the flow of fluid to thenozzles so that fluid is sprayed along only one of the said passages atany one time.
 5. A loading member for mounting adjacent to a cutter andmining machine, including a first component assembly having a loadingsurface which in use when the loading member is mounted on the machineis adjacent to the cutter, a second component assembly associated withthe said first component assembly to define two air flow passages havingair flow inlets positioned adjacent to two margins of the said firstcomponent assembly, the two margins being at opposite ends of the saidfirst component assembly, air flow inducing means including nozzle meansfor selectively directing air flow inducing sprays along the saidpassages, control means for controlling the flow of fluid to the nozzlemeans so that fluid is sprayed along only one of the said two passagesat any one time, and door means for selectively closing the air flowinlets.
 6. A loading member according to claim 5, in which the doormeans includes two doors associated with the two air flow inlets,respectively, each door being urged open by the fluid supply to theassociated nozzle means.
 7. A loading member according to claim 6, inwhich the doors are biassed towards the closed position.
 8. A loadingmember for mounting adjacent to a cutter on a mining machine, includinga first component assembly having a loading surface which in use whenthe loading member is mounted on the machine is adjacent to the cutter,a second component assembly associated with the said first componentassembly to define an air flow passage having an air flow inletpositioned adjacent to one margin of the said first component assembly,and air flow inducing means including a nozzle for directing an air flowinducing liquid spray along the said passage, and means for separatingliquid from the induced air flow discharged from the said passage.
 9. Aloading member according to claim 8, in which the said means are bafflemeans in the form of a wire mesh screen.
 10. A mining machine having arotary cutter and a loading member mounted adjacent to the said rotarycutter, the loading member including a first component assembly having aloading surface which in use when the loading member is mounted on themachine is adjacent to the cutter, a second component assemblyassociated with the said first component assembly to define an air flowpassage having an air flow passage having an air flow inlet positionedadjacent to one margin of the said first component assembly, and airflow inducing means including a nozzle for directing an air flowinducing spray along the said passage.